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Buy or rent from www.recordedbooks.com Peter Robinson has shown no signs of slowing down. His Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is one of the most popular detective series loved by readers and critics alike. Robinson is not afraid to take risks with his characters or to shake things up. A lot has been going on in the life of the main character and there are no hints of it slowing down. Nothing is ever predictable in these books and with PLAYING WITH FIRE, the author kicks it up a notch. In this latest in the Banks series the Detective Chief Inspector is investigating a series of arson deaths that are identical in nature, but in which the victims appear to have absolutely nothing in common. A reclusive artist and a young heroin addict are dead after the barges in which they were living in were torched. A few days later a divorced loser living on a trailer will also die in a suspicious fire. During the course of the investigation Banks meets friends and witnesses of the victims. Some applaud the disposal of bad rubbish, others focusing on the coulda, woulda, and shouldas that could have helped the people in their lives. Things are not so black and white with these crimes and Banks will go through several shades of gray uncovering hidden truths about the victims. The motives for the fire remain a mystery until Banks realizes what the common link is, and if he is not careful he will be getting burned. A great book needs a great narrator to perform this story and Recorded Books got him. Classically trained actor Ron Keith gives Banks a gruff voice where people will pay attention to his words and enjoy the pleasure of his company. The only drawback inside this recording is that Keith provides little variety with regard to doing different voices. The young characters sound alike; women are portrayed in the same way with very little difference with their pronunciations. Regardless of that, it does not make a difference with the story -- it is great all the same. PLAYING WITH FIRE is a strong character driven story and the narrator develops it to as close as perfection as he can make of it. That said, this should be an opportunity not to miss this great work. Get it while it is still hot. Inspector Banks is real cool.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, May 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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